Storm brushes Panhandle; some beach erosion seen

By Valerie Garman / The News Herald

Published: Thursday, June 6, 2013 at 07:27 PM.

Nicholas said she was hopeful today would present a better beach day for their kids and grandkids.

Andrea made landfall around 4 p.m. CDT in the Big Bend area of the state, near the Dixie/Taylor County line, with 65 mph winds to the center’s east and its outskirts bringing moderate wind and rain and spotty power outages to the
Franklin
County
area.

Franklin
County
schools were released early under advisement from emergency management officials.

In
Apalachicola
, life mostly went on as usual on the land — there were reports of a few power outages — but in the water, Andrea kept anglers ashore.

“There’s no reason for them to be out in it,” said T.J. Ward, a cashier at 13-mile Seafood in downtown
Apalachicola
. “Nobody’s going out today; that’s about the only thing that’s different. We’re just not unloading any seafood.”

Bay
County
fe
lt little impact from the storm, but several flights to and from the
Northwest
Florida
Beach
es
International
Airport
(ECP) were
del
ayed.

Some parts of the
county
st
a
ye
d dry Thursday, including at ECP, while Tyndall Air Force Base only recorded slightly over a quarter-inch, with most of it falling before 2 a.m.
Apalachicola
saw about 1.7 inches of rain Thursday.

CAPE SAN BLAS — “What storm?” was the question posed by residents and visitors along the PanhandleGulfCoast as Tropical Storm Andrea skimmed by to the east Thursday afternoon.

Despite tropical storm warnings that extended west to the IndianPass in GulfCounty on Thursday morning, Steve Blomeley and his 12-year-old daughter Mary-Walton enjoyed the day on the beach at CapeSan Blas.

Even after only a couple of days visiting the area, Blomeley said beach erosion from the high surf brought by Andrea was already apparent.

“It’s kind of neat to see how the beach has changed in the last few days,” he said.

Indiana couple John and Anandi Nicholas said they also noticed a higher-than-usual tide Thursday morning outside the CapeSan Blas beach house where they were staying.

The Nicholases have been visiting the area since 2006 and have noticed a lofty change in the shoreline over the years as storms continue to carve away the sand.

“This morning it was pretty dramatic,” Anandi Nicholas said. “The waves were a lot bigger and coming up to the dunes. … I’m concerned about the dune erosion here; it’s really bad.”

Nicholas said she was hopeful today would present a better beach day for their kids and grandkids.

Andrea made landfall around 4 p.m. CDT in the Big Bend area of the state, near the Dixie/Taylor County line, with 65 mph winds to the center’s east and its outskirts bringing moderate wind and rain and spotty power outages to the FranklinCounty area.

FranklinCounty schools were released early under advisement from emergency management officials.

In Apalachicola, life mostly went on as usual on the land — there were reports of a few power outages — but in the water, Andrea kept anglers ashore.

“There’s no reason for them to be out in it,” said T.J. Ward, a cashier at 13-mile Seafood in downtown Apalachicola. “Nobody’s going out today; that’s about the only thing that’s different. We’re just not unloading any seafood.”

BayCountyfelt little impact from the storm, but several flights to and from the NorthwestFloridaBeachesInternationalAirport (ECP) were delayed.

Some parts of the countystayed dry Thursday, including at ECP, while Tyndall Air Force Base only recorded slightly over a quarter-inch, with most of it falling before 2 a.m. Apalachicola saw about 1.7 inches of rain Thursday.

Bay County Emergency Management Director Mark Bowen said staff watched the storm closely throughout the day, but were confident the storm would stay to the east of the area.

“We never expected here to be on the bad side of the storm,” Bowen said. “But it’s one of those perfect reminders that it could have been different, it could have been a stronger storm and I just hope everyone is prepared.”

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